Naming in an AI Age

In this episode, Mike Carr dives into AI’s growing role in branding and naming, emphasizing how personalized prompts lead to better results. Inspired by Dana Malstaff of Boss Moms, he highlights the power of building an AI history—providing brand context, competitors, budget, and trademark needs—to generate more relevant names, taglines, and rationale. While AI tools like Gemini 1.5 Pro and Claude...

In this episode, Namestormers Co-founder and CEO Mike Carr explores how AI is revolutionizing naming, generating creative, professional-quality ideas with incredible speed. However, as Mike highlights, AI lacks in areas like trademark screening, cultural nuances, and emotional resonance—key spaces where human expertise shines. Using a smart toothbrush case study, Mike compares the bold appeal of &...

In this podcast episode NameStormers CEO Mike Carr and Director of Ops Ashley Elliott examine the quirky and edgy world of Halloween candy names, exploring how fun, memorable names like Twizzlers and Skittles excite, while descriptive ones like Mr. Goodbar and Candy Corn evoke taste or imagery. Overall candy names can play a critical role in whether a treat becomes a household favorite or gets tra...

In this episode of Naming in an AI Age, NameStormers Director of Ops Ashley Elliott and CEO Mike Carr discuss a viral incident involving an influencer named Cierra Misst, who claimed PepsiCo sent her a cease and desist letter after rebranding their lemon-lime drink Sierra Mist to Starry.  They clarify that while she alleged Pepsi let the trademark lapse, this was misleading; PepsiCo still owns the...

This week, NameStormers CEO Mike Carr and Director of Ops Ashley Elliott discuss the evolving role of AI in naming, highlighting a project journey for an outdoor lifestyle brand's bug repellent. While AI generated initial ideas, human creativity was crucial in refining names due to trademark concerns. The process involved presenting names with visual context, client feedback, and adjustments...

In this episode of Naming in an AI Age, NameStormers, Director of Ops Ashley Elliott and CEO Mike Carr discuss the complexities of trademarking viral phrases, using TikTok content creator Jools Lebron’s catchphrase "very demure, very mindful" as an example.  Jools faced challenges trademarking the phrase for beauty products due to trademark trolls, including individuals who filed for the...

In this podcast, Ashley Elliott and Mike Carr explore the complexities of naming strategies, emphasizing the importance of context in making naming decisions. They discuss how names like "Dunkalatte" are designed for clarity and brand consistency, while luxury EVs, such as Ford’s "Mustang Mach-E," leverage existing brand equity and signal innovation. The conversation highlights...

In the podcast "Naming in an AI Age," Mike and Ashley discuss the critical factors in naming a product, emphasizing the need to understand both the competitive landscape and target audience. Using Desert Glory’s "Cherubs" tomatoes as a case study, they highlight how the name cleverly evokes both "cherry" tomatoes and cute, small angels, making it memorable and effecti...

In this podcast episode on naming strategies, Ashley Elliott and Mike Carr discuss the importance of selecting a name that aligns with the desired look, feel, and emotional resonance for a product. Using the example of Intergraph's CAD CAM platform competing against Autodesk, they illustrate how the name "Solid Edge" was chosen to convey both functional and aspirational qualities, a...

This week on "Naming in the AI Age," Namestormers Ashley Elliott and Mike Carr discuss the evolving relevance of taglines in today’s fast-paced digital world. While some critique taglines as outdated distractions, Mike argues for their enduring value, suggesting they enhance brand names by providing emotional appeal and differentiation. He highlights examples like Dr. Pepper's chang...

NameStormers CEO, Mike Carr, discusses the impact of brand names across age groups, emphasizing that while memorable names can spark conversation, they may not support broad demographic expansion. He underscores the role of controversy in making names engaging but warns about considering consumer emotions in purchasing decisions. Carr notes challenger brands disrupt with edgy names and advises bal...

In this episode, NameStormers CEO Mike Carr discusses the importance of choosing engaging and memorable names for products or companies, citing examples such as Snapple and eBay, which demonstrate the power of names that are not necessarily descriptive but capture attention. He also warns against the mistake of ignoring the target audience when naming a product or company. Carr emphasizes the impo...

Mike Carr, co-founder of NameStormers, highlights the company's 40 years of experience in addressing naming challenges like budget constraints, team disagreements, and legal issues. Key considerations include name length, spelling ease, memorability, branding alignment, and competitor differentiation. Their process involves understanding client needs, creating tailored strategies, and using A...

In this podcast, NameStormers CEO Mike Carr interviews, Laura Schroeder who discusses her transition to a naming career, highlighting the shift from tech-sounding to organic names due to trademark issues and changing preferences. She emphasizes aligning names with a brand's value, involving clients, and using surveys for feedback. Good namers need strong vocabulary and language skills. Schroe...

In this episode, NameStormers CEO Mike Carr explores whether using the same name as another company is feasible in the AI age. While possible, it presents challenges like trademark infringement, customer confusion, and difficulty in establishing a unique brand. Using the same name might work if products, customers, pricing, and distribution channels differ, citing Dove soap and Dove chocolate as e...

In this podcast episode, Ashley Elliott and Mike Carr discuss the importance of being an advocate for names rather than a critic, explaining that focusing on what's wrong with a name can lead to a negative mindset and hinder the naming process. Instead, they suggest wearing an advocate hat and discussing the potential and possibilities of names. By approaching the conversation with positivity...

Ashley Elliott and Mike Carr discuss strategies for gathering unbiased opinions in client calls, including staying open-minded and using anonymous polls. They recommend having a manageable number of participants to ensure everyone can contribute and stress the importance of testing ideas with the target audience.  

In this podcast, Mike Carr and Ashley Elliott discuss essential skills for effective business naming. Ashley simplifies complex concepts, observes client reactions, and maintains strong organizational skills, while Mike leverages 40+ years of experience to offer strategic insights and navigate legal name clearance. Both emphasize visualizing names in context and continuous learning to address nami...

Mike Carr discusses how AI will revolutionize large companies by reducing the need for big workforces, boosting efficiency and profitability. This change will diminish large corporations' scale advantage, allowing smaller, agile companies to compete effectively. Sam Altman predicts AI will take over 95% of tasks currently done by agencies and creative professionals, leading marketers to shift...

In the podcast "Naming in an AI Age," Ashley Elliott and Mike Carr discuss the importance of social media handles for online branding and discoverability. They explore whether to use separate handles for personal and business brands, emphasizing consistency for recognition while expressing personality. Tips include using timeless language, checking platform restrictions, and conducting t...

In this episode, Ashley Elliott and Mike Carr discuss the importance of domain names in the AI age. They talk about the history of the.com craze and how it has changed over the years, discussing the trend of startups straying away from the.com and opting for shorter.ai.io names.  Some do's and don'ts are also provided when choosing a domain name, such as avoiding characters like dashes o...

This week, Mike and Ashley discuss how naming is changing in the AI age. They highlight three key factors: video, digital clutter, and content. They explain that video engagement is becoming more important, as names associated with videos need to be memorable and easily spelled. They also discuss how the abundance of digital clutter requires names to be quick, engaging, and relevant to capture att...

Mike Carr emphasizes the importance of having a strong reason for changing a company's name and involving the CEO throughout the process, citing examples like United Airlines' failed attempt and Amfac Parks and Resorts' successful rebranding to Xanterra under new leadership.  

Mike Carr discusses the challenges of naming products or brands in China due to the vast linguistic differences between English and Mandarin, with Mandarin having over 50,000 characters compared to English's 26 letters. Translating English names into Mandarin requires careful consideration to avoid negative or confusing meanings, exemplified by Coca-Cola's initial Mandarin translation. C...

Naming can become a "house of cards" when there is no clear structure or strategy in place. Just like a house with multiple remodels and different styles, a company's naming can become disorganized and confusing through organic growth, mergers, and acquisitions. To avoid this, a naming architecture is needed, similar to a blueprint for a house. One popular type of naming architectur...